Who we are

Kent is a shire county, and Wye with Hinxhill is a civil parish so residents have three tiers of representation - at the parish, borough and county level, (in addition to Westminster and the European Parliament). Responsibility for providing different services is split between the three tiers. See the A-Z of Services pages for more information.

Wye parishioners can elect up to nine parish councillors to represent them on local matters. Following the local election 4th May 2023 the Parish Council has five councillors. Four of whom were elected, and one was co-opted at the Annual Parish Council Meeting 10th May 2023. The remaining four seats are currently unfilled and they will be advertised for co-option.

In summary, Wye parish councillors are:

• all independent, and have no political party affiliations.
• not paid for their time.
• bound by the Code of Conduct (as are all councillors at the parish, borough and county tiers of local government), and required to make declarations of pecuniary interest (financial interest) in the interests of transparency.
• committed to uphold the Seven Principles of Public Life (also known as the Nolan Principles)
• elected to serve a four year term of office. At the end of which the Council will dissolve. Councillors must then either put themselves forward for re-election or retire. This time limit also applies to any councillor who is elected in a by-election or co-opted during the four year term.

The next election for the Parish Council will be held in May 2027 (on the same day as the local elections for Ashford Borough Council). Wye is not sub-divided into wards, so each councillor has a duty to represent the interests of the whole parish, irrespective of where they live.

At the annual parish council meeting (APCM) held in May each year, the Parish Council elects a chair and vice-chair who will serve for the next twelve months.

• For the 2023-2024 year the Chair is Cllr Noel Ovenden and the Vice Chair is Cllr Penny Haynes.
• Cllr Noel Ovenden (was re-elected as the Wye Ward member in May 2023 and he is therefore termed 'dual hatted' or 'twin hatted'). Cllr Ovenden is also the leader of Ashford Borough Council.
• Parish cllrs Noel Ovenden, Richard Bartley, Penny Haynes, Patricia Marsh, Barbara Martin, Duncan Malcolm and Mike West can all be reached via the Contact Us page.
• The parish boundary of Wye with Hinxhill also defines the boundary of Wye Ward so Cllr Ovenden represents residents at both tiers.

The Parish Clerk is the Parish Council's senior employee. The post holder has several legal duties and responsibilities, but is not elected. Katherine Stephens holds this position, (though in local government law, she is designated as the Proper Officer, Responsible Finance Officer and Data Controller). Katherine manages other staff and she is ably supported by Mary Lacey as the Administrative Assistant.

• Wye elects one borough councillor, Cllr Noel Ovenden. (re-elected May 2023).
• The Wye with Hinxhill parish boundary also defines the Wye Ward boundary.
• Wye Ward had 1,869 registered electors 4th May 2023.
• Wye Ward was last contested 4th May 2023 in elections for all other seats on Ashford Borough Council.
• All parish council seats across the borough were also up for election 4th May 2023, and previously on the same dates as borough elections held 2nd May 2019, and 7th May 2015.

• Wye is within the Ashford Rural East division, one of 81 in Kent County Council (reduced at the 2017 election from 84 divisions, following a Boundary Commission review).
• The Ashford Rural East Division elects one county councillor Cllr Clair Bell (re-elected May 2021). The next election for this Kent County Council seat will be held in May 2025.

• Currently, Wye with Hinxhill is on the north east boundary of the Ashford parliamentary constituency, which is represented by Damian Green MP at Westminster (re-elected December 2019).
• During 2022 the Boundary Commission for England reviewed all parliamentary boundaries. Consequently, the number of constituencies in the South East region will increase from 84 to 91. This process will distribute the number of constituents across new boundaries and the reflects the substantial increase in population since the previous boundary review.
• The proposed new boundaries will take effect in July 2023 and they can be downloaded as PDF maps direct from the Boundary Commission for England's website.
• Wye with Hinxhill will remain within the proposed boundary for the much revised Ashford Constituency. However, the parish boundary will border the new Wealden Constituency and Canterbury Constituency.